William Herschel discovered NGC 5476 = H III-287 = h1751 on 5 Mar 1785 (sweep 380) and logged "vF, pS, irr." JH made the single observation "F; pL; R." He did not measure the RA and the polar distance was only roughly taken. Nevertheless, his NPD is accurate.

400/500mm - 18" (5/29/05): fairly faint, moderately large oval 4:3 NW-SE, 1.3'x1.0', broadly concentrated with no core. A mag 11.5 star is off the west side, 1.9' from center.

18" (6/18/04): fairly faint, slightly elongated NW-SE, 1.0'x0.8'. The surface brightness appears slightly irregular with possibly a brighter spot or knot offset to the west side (it didn't appear to be the core). A mag 12.5 star lies 1.9' W of center.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb